Trumpeter Swan

As the largest waterfowl in the world, trumpeters often have wingspans of seven feet across and weigh 25-30 pounds. They were hunted nearly to extinction in the nineteenth century with fewer than 50 remaining in the United States in the 1930s. Conservation efforts have enabled the regal and stately trumpeter to make a successful comeback in the northern Rocky Mountains.

Bald Eagle

As America’s national wildlife symbol, the bald eagle is an immediately recognizable raptor with a wingspan of 6 to 7 feet. This large eagle was photographed near the Missouri River on a cold winter morning.

Common Loon and One-week Old Chick

The Common Loon is the Minnesota state bird. It has a black bill, red eyes and a spotty black and white body with a black/iridescent green head. The common loon has four calls. The tremolo, which sounds like maniacal laughter, is an aggressive call. The wail is a long, drawn-out sound that people mistake for a wolf. The hoot, a shorter call, is used to communicate among parents and young. Male loons make a yodel sound when guarding their territory. Loons can dive as deep as 250 feet to search for food.

Eastern Kingbird on Thorny Branch

The Eastern Kingbird is a medium-sized bird that is easily recognizable because of a distinctive white band across its tail. It practices a technique called “hawking,” where it flies out to catch insects and returns to the same tall branch.

Distinguished Heron

Displaying the grace of a ballerina, a Great Blue Heron surveys its surroundings in the Hilton Head National Wildlife Refuge in South Carolina. Great Blue Herons typically live in and around salt and fresh-water environments, have wingspans up to six feet and fly approximately 25 mph.

Western Meadowlark in Black Hills

The buoyant, flutelike melody of the Western Meadowlark ringing out across a field is beautiful. Meadowlarks are often more easily heard than seen, unless you spot a male singing from a fence post. This colorful member of the blackbird family flashes a vibrant yellow breast crossed by a distinctive, black, V-shaped band. Meadowlarks are stout ground feeders in grasslands, meadows, pastures, and along marsh edges throughout the West and Midwest, where flocks strut and feed on seeds and insects.

Lesser Yellowlegs on Platte River

Along the Platte River this Lesser Yellowlegs struts along the shore looking for a meal. A member of the Sandpiper family, Yellowlegs usually feed by probing their beaks into the mud and sand along the water’s edge.

Great Horned Owl in Burnt Forest

On a “washboard” gravel road in Grand Teton National Park this immature owl was spotted in the distant trees. The surrounding forest was mostly black, burned by the Berry fire in 2016. Over the next hour, the owl never moved, but turned his head numerous times to show that he was attentive enough to spot a mouse 25 yards away. Great horned owls live between 10-15 years in the wild if they are not preyed on by another animal and have been known to live up to 30 years in captivity.

Eastern Kingbird

The Eastern Kingbird is a medium-sized bird that is easily recognizable because of a distinctive white band across its tail. It practices a technique called “hawking,” where it flies out to catch insects and returns to the same tall branch.

Soaring Bald Eagle

With eyesight about eight times better than a human’s, bald eagles have the ability to soar high and spot rodents and other prey far below. The tips of the wings are widely separated to reduce turbulence as air passes over and when the eagle is soaring, the tail feathers are spread to attain the largest surface area and increase the effect of thermals and updrafts. The tail also helps brake the eagle when landing and assists in stabilization during a controlled dive or swoop toward prey.

Tricolored Heron in Hilton Head Wildlife Refuge

Faster than a speeding bullet, a tricolored heron can catch a small fish with its pointed beak. This heron stood motionless in a shallow marsh for nearly two minutes before its head darted into the water, coming up with its next meal.

Cardinal in South Carolina

The Northern Cardinal is a familiar backyard bird, where the male is all red with a black mask that extends from the face to the chin and throat. Cardinals are very territorial in the spring and will fight their own reflection in a window. Both the male and female sing the cardinal’s distinctive and beautiful song.

Wing Stretch

The Common Loon is the Minnesota state bird. It has a black bill, red eyes and a spotty black and white body with a black/iridescent green head. The common loon has four calls. The tremolo, which sounds like maniacal laughter, is an aggressive call. The wail is a long, drawn-out sound that people mistake for a wolf. The hoot, a shorter call, is used to communicate among parents and young. Male loons make a yodel sound when guarding their territory. Loons can dive as deep as 250 feet to search for food.

Yellow Warbler in Minnesota

The Yellow Warbler breeds from Alaska east across Canada to Newfoundland and south to southern California, northern Oklahoma, and northern Georgia. It spends winters in southern Florida and the tropics. Preferred habitats include the edges of marshes and swamps, willow-lined steams, leafy bogs, thickets, orchards, forest edges and suburban yards and gardens. This picture was taken in central Minnesota.

Bald Eagle on Alert

As America’s national wildlife symbol, the bald eagle is an immediately recognizable raptor with a wingspan of 6 to 7 feet. This large eagle was photographed near the Missouri River on a cold winter morning.

White Ibis in Louisiana Bayou

An ibis is a wading bird that belongs to the family of ibises and spoonbills. Ibises inhabit salt marshes, swamps, areas near the lakes and rivers, tropical mangroves, forests and marshy mountain meadows where they walk slowly with their heads down probing the muddy surface for insects and crustaceans.

Mourning Dove

The Mourning Dove is different from other doves primarily because of its pointed tail with large white spots. It has a hollow, mournful song and its range extends from southeast Alaska to Panama. It lives primarily in farmland, towns, open woods and grasslands.

Bald Eagle and Eaglets in Minnesota

Photographed in central Minnesota, this mature bald eagle supervises its two chicks while the make eagle searches for fish to feed the family. Eagles thrive on fish and typically perch on the tops of tall trees along the shoreline of lakes and rivers. Immature eagles are often mistaken for hawks, as they don’t develop the white head and legs until they turn 3-4 years old.

Tricolored Heron in Hilton Head Wildlife Refuge

Looking equally stern and cautious, a Tricolored Heron surveys its surroundings in the Hilton Head National Wildlife Refuge in South Carolina. Tricolored Herons typically live in and around salt and fresh-water environments, have wingspans up to six feet and fly approximately 25 mph.

Steller's Jay in Colorado

The Steller’s Jay lives in coniferous forests and is seen year around in Rocky Mountain National Park. The bird is omnivorous and frequently a raider of picnic tables and campsites. It is sharp witted and known to imitate the sounds of hawks and other birds of prey.